Book review Free

Despite its serious title and sombre external appearance, this book tackles an important subject – the durability and performance of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in structural engineering – and does so with readable thoroughness. Engineers and materials scientists involved with construction will find this book to be an invaluable and practical guide.

Professor Karbhari, who was at the University of California when this book was published, but is now at the University of Alabama, is a well known figure in the field of composites and has authored (three) and co-authored (two) of the 14 chapters, as well as editing the whole book. To complete the comprehensive coverage, Karbhari has harnessed the expertise of 19 other specialised contributors, variously from the USA (12), Canada (five), Australia (one) and the UK (one). Multi-authored edited books can be eclectic and disjointed, but Karbhari and his fellow contributors have successfully achieved a sensibly harmonious, logically continuous and apparently complete treatment.

After an admirable scene-setting opening chapter by Karbhari, the remaining 13 chapters are simply grouped into two parts: part I dealing with ‘Aspects of composite durability’ (chapters 2–9) and part II addressing ‘Applications and monitoring of composites in civil engineering’ (chapters 10–14). Each chapter is self-contained and includes its own reference list, but there is also an effective overall index at the end of the book.

Readers frequently skip introductory chapters in technical resources of this type, but in this case the concise first chapter is to be commended and recommended. In a few pages, Karbhari explains the nature of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) – ‘the synergistic combination of reinforcing fibres, with appropriate fillers/additives, in a polymeric resin matrix’ – also the microstructural details that control performance and ‘durability’ (in its widest sense) and the potential for their wider application in structural engineering and repairs. He explains that part of the mission of the book is ‘to bridge the gap between the fibre-reinforced polymer specialist and the end user in the civil/construction area’.

It is fair to say that the main contents of the book largely meet this aspiration. After a second chapter by Karbhari, in which he explains the nature and manufacture of FRP products in more detail and identifies the main in-service threats to durability, there is a sequence of chapters considering the effects of these various issues – including water, freeze–thaw, ultraviolet, high temperature and fire, fatigue, creep, abrasion and erosive wear. For many readers, the more practical chapters in part II will be the main attraction of the book. An excellent initial review chapter by Professor Len Hollaway, of the University of Surrey, provides a thorough grounding to the topic and is well supported by real examples from the USA, Canada and the UK. The next three chapters draw on research and experience to debate the use of FRP materials for non-corrodible reinforcement for concrete and for cost-effective and lightweight external strengthening in new construction and rehabilitation. A final interesting chapter provides an update on the ‘structural health monitoring’ of structures and how these techniques can help to evaluate the performance and durability of innovative structures incorporating FRP materials.

Overall, Professor Karbhari and his team should be proud of a superb new and practically useful addition to the libraries of construction professionals and students. The chapter texts are well structured and achieve an easy style, supported by examples and abundant references to other more detailed sources. Individual chapters vary in the extent to which the text is assisted by tables and diagrams and, with the notable exception of chapter 14, there is definitely a regrettable shortage of images. That said, I welcome this book and have no hesitation in recommending it to colleagues in the construction industry.